GLEN DALE, W.Va. (WTRF) — He has lived a very successful life and now has one more accomplishment to add to his impressive resume.

On April 6 Bobby Johns, also known as the West Virginia Cool Aid Kid, was awarded the Pittsburgh International Dragway (PID) Lifetime Achievement Award. The award was given to him to recognize his many achievements and accomplishments in the sport of drag racing.

The Pittsburgh International Dragway was open from 1963 to 1976.

Johns is a former national record holder and has raced at several national events including ones at Madison Square Garden in New York City and the Los Angeles Coliseum. One of Johns’ biggest accomplishments was building Friendship Park Raceway in Smithfield, Ohio. He also had his own race parts company in Moundsville, West Virginia called Competition Parts that he ran for 17 years.

”I think what brought a lot of it on was when I had the dragstrip the last three years before I closed I had the PID reunion, and I had some of the professional racers come to the event and all the older racers used to come and race and we just had the best time.”

Bobby Johns – Pittsburgh International Dragway Lifetime Achievement Award Winner

Bobby retired from drag racing in 2021 and now continues to cherish the many friendships and memories that he has built over the years.